2 new fire belly newts. Need help

[Jaredburns69]

I have read they may not eat at first. I purchased them yesterday and I got a small glass dish and submerged it then thawed half a cube of blood worms and added them to the dish about an hour ago but the only time they really go in the water they swim straight to the other side and climb on my submersible water pump then back across to the land area I built for them.any ideas would gladly be appreciated!

 

[asfouts]

There is a Discussion area for fire belly newts probably labeled cynops so you can extract info from there. But I can cover the basics.

After your little newts settle down and adjust my suggestion is start with live food first, because more then likely thats what they were fed before. Fruitflies are small and the flightless variety are walking meals. My male newt was strictly terrestrial which is why people say 50-50 land water. Altho I think gravel or sand slopes take up too much room. I dont know what your setup looks like but use plastic/foam platforms for your newts. They can take up half the tank if you want, but it provides more water area. If you have any specific questions that havent been covered shoot. But there is a ton of info on these newts since they are right up there in popularity with axolotls.

 

[evut]

As Asfouts says, there is a Cynops section where you should find helpful threads, but mainly look in this (Help) section. Many people experience similar problems with newts from pet shops.
One day without food is not really an issue - they will take some time to adjust and recover from transport, pet shop care etc. You need to make sure conditions are good for them - cool cycled water (ideally under or around 20℃) with no or very little movement, lots of plants with some floating ones, some hiding places. They should really be aquatic as adults so if they are staying on land for extended periods, something is usually wrong. Regarding feeding, try earthworms, they are very nutritious. You could also try lesser waxworms, live bloodworms etc. If they are on dry land, put the food near their hiding place and leave them to it (go away and turn the lights off if you can - that sometimes helps).
If you offer anything in water, make sure you remove it soon if it doesn't get eaten, otherwise it will decompose and mess up water quality.
Also make sure you have a 100% escape-proof lid.

Do as much reading as you can to understand what the newts need:
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/articles.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Cynops/C_orientalis.shtml
http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/firebelly.shtml

 

[archie]

Thanks! Think a screen lid with computer fans is the easiest. For now I've put some spring water ice cubes on a sponge above the tank so they can drip melt. The newt is larger, bumpier but i think he's just older. Many thanks!!!

 

[nwmnnaturalist]

Gravel is not recommended as substrate for most species of amphibian, since they may ingest it and it can cause serious health problems and death. Having a bare bottom is perfectly fine, or even large river stones. Even if they are much smaller than the gravel now, small pieces of it can break off.